Matchstick Lab

05/13/2026

Well THAT was fun. 🔥

Yesterday we hosted the very first Firebrand Action Lab at Vibe Coworks — a new hands-on workshop series from Matchstick Lab designed to help entrepreneurs tackle real-world business challenges together.

This first session focused on one deceptively hard question:

❓ How do customers actually find you — and why do they decide to buy?

We skipped the panels and awkward networking and instead dove headfirst into:

🔨 The Invisible Business
🔨 The Leaky Funnel
🔨 The One-Person Marketing Machine

Then, inspired by the smarts that Maureen Jann shared in her presentation, we jumped into mentor roundtables, which were a TREAT.

Huge thanks to Kitsap Bank, our incredible mentors, Honeybee Horticulture, Tiffany Diamond Photography, and everyone who showed up ready to engage fully and authentically.

🔥 Registration is now open for our June Action Lab:

How to Lead Your Business Without Burning Out

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/how-to-lead-your-business-without-burning-out-tickets-1985834762231?aff=oddtdtcreator

05/06/2026

If there’s one thing we know, it’s that bright minds and passionate entrepreneurs can be found allllll across Kitsap. �
That’s why we were so excited to gather with the Matchstick Lab community in SILVERDALE for the very first time, thanks to the warmth and hospitality of Cody and the team at Peninsula BrewHouse.�
Their brand new space upstairs made the perfect backdrop for a night full of great conversations, new connections, and reminders that incredible people are building interesting things all across this region.
�Really glad we got to gather with so many of you. ✨

Ready for more quality time with peers who are in the trenches building things just like you are? �
Join us back at Vibe Coworks on Tuesday, May 12 for our first Firebrand Action Lab, a hands-on, highly interactive deep dive into how customers find you, why they buy, and how to keep them coming back.
�

05/06/2026

If there's one thing we know, it's that bright minds and passionate entrepreneurs can be found allllll across Kitsap.

That’s why we were so excited to gather with the Matchstick Lab community in SILVERDALE for the very first time, thanks to the warmth and hospitality of Cody and the team at Peninsula BrewHouse.

Their brand new space upstairs made the perfect backdrop for a night full of great conversations, new connections, and reminders that incredible people are building interesting things all across this region.

Really glad we got to gather with so many of you. ✨

Ready for more quality time with peers who are in the trenches building things just like you are?

Join us back at Vibe Coworks on Tuesday, May 12 for our first Firebrand Action Lab, a hands-on, highly interactive deep dive into how customers find you, why they buy, and how to keep them coming back.

Learn more + grab your ticket: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/how-customers-find-you-and-why-they-buy-tickets-1985833926732?aff=oddtdtcreator

04/24/2026

Gather with your people!

Get your tickets now and join us next week, in SILVERDALE 🔥

Kitsap entrepreneurs, this one is for YOU! 🙌

We are so excited to welcome the Firebrand Spring Fling to The BrewHouse next Tuesday! A relaxed evening of connection, conversation, and good energy for founders, builders, and small business owners from across Kitsap.

Whether you're building something new, growing something established, or simply craving real conversation with people who get it, this is exactly where you need to be.

📍 Peninsula BrewHouse, Silverdale
🗓 Tuesday, April 28 from 5:30 to 7PM

Tickets are $23.18, grab yours here 👇
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/firebrand-spring-fling-tickets-1987362199838

04/23/2026

Earlier this year, the invited Matchstick Lab to come alongside them in trying something new: a meetup for entrepreneurs on Bainbridge Island Chamber of Commerce

We held the first one in January, thinking maybe, just maybe, ten people would show up to hang out and have a drink with us. But then, nearly 30 people showed up, completely catching us off guard.

This quarter, we decided to try a new approach: rotating small groups, with the chance to get to know people in a way that (we hoped!) was a little less intimidating.

Another 25 people showed up (THANK YOU!), ranging from 5 months in business, to nearing 40 years. That’s a whole lot of experience and know-how in one room.

We’ve got ideas on how to improve things even more for the summer edition, but we want to hear from you:

**What does your ideal Bainbridge Entrepreneur Meetup look and feel like?**

PS Please join us in giving a shout of thanks over to BECU for sponsoring our drinks for these events, and to Sisters' Cider House for providing us with a beautiful venue to gather at!

03/10/2026

Today is Kitsap Great Give! Our community’s 24-hour day of generosity. Today is Kitsap Great Give — our community’s 24-hour day of generosity. ✨

There are 345 incredible nonprofits you can support today. If you’re looking for one to add to your list, we hope you’ll consider Matchstick Lab.

We're here to support the people who are brave enough to build businesses here in Kitsap—the entrepreneurs, makers, problem-solvers, and dreamers creating jobs, strengthening our local economy, and helping shape the future of our region.

We help entrepreneurs access education, mentorship, funding connections, and storytelling support so their ideas can grow.

But perhaps most importantly, we help ensure that no one has to build something meaningful alone.

Over the past year, we’ve:

🔥 Supported local founders through our Micro Business Accelerator
🔥 Hosted conversations and gatherings connecting entrepreneurs with mentors and investors
🔥 Lifted up the stories of Kitsap innovators working to build something meaningful

If you believe in a future where great businesses can start and grow right here in Kitsap, your support today helps make that possible.

If Matchstick Lab resonates with you, we’d be truly grateful for your support.

Donate here:
www.kitsapgreatgive.org/organization/Matchstick-Lab

Wherever you choose to give today, THANK YOU thank you for showing up for our community.

Matchstick Lab is making Kitsap the go-to place to launch and grow businesses that benefit the region, and bring value to the world. Your Gift Builds the Future of...

01/30/2026

Do you SEE all these smiling faces?

Last week, we co-hosted our first Bainbridge Entrepreneur Meetup with the Bainbridge Island Chamber of Commerce.

Credit where it's due: this was the Chamber's idea, and we were generously invited to come alongside them to help make it happen. We said yes, not knowing what to expect.

We figured maybe 5 people would show up. But Bainbridge? You showed UP!

Thanks for coming out. Thanks for rolling with us as we waffled between keeping it free-range vs. pulling up tables and hearing what everyone had to say.

We're planning to do it again this Spring, and are already thinking about some format tweaks to make it even more useful and welcoming.

Huge thanks to Lindsay Clothier Browning and the Bainbridge Chamber for the partnership, to ' Cider House for hosting, BECU for sponsoring a round of drinks, and to everyone who showed up with curiosity and the energy to make some new friends.

We're looking forward to the next one!

11/25/2025

What powers a thriving entrepreneurial community?

It’s not slogans. And it’s definitely not buzzwords.
It’s people. Systems. Capital. Collaboration.

Fresh off the energy of last week’s Firebrand Unconference 2025, this month’s Ecosystem Edge column in Kitsap Business lands at the perfect moment.

In it, Matchstick Lab board member and Kitsap Bank executive Carol Kowalski shares a clear and compelling vision for how Kitsap can fuel its next chapter of growth—from founder education and early capital to mentorship, storytelling, and regenerative business models.

And her closing challenge echoes exactly what we heard in the room at Firebrand:

✨ What if every company built in Kitsap was designed to give back more than it takes?

✨ What if founders baked mentorship into their business plans from day one?

✨ What if “growth” always included impact?

Big things happen when a community believes in its builders.
We’re here for it.

Read Carol’s full column here:
https://matchsticklab.co/fueling-kitsaps-growth-engine/

11/21/2025

Two years ago, we had a crazy idea:

What if we put a bunch of local business owners in a room and simply let them speak for themselves?

What if we created a space to step out of the day-to-day and talk with peers who truly get it—the highest highs, the lowest lows... and everything in between?

What if we walked in with no agenda other than the belief that the answers we need are already in the room?

That crazy idea became the Matchstick Lab Firebrand Unconference—and it has quickly become our favorite day of the year.

To the 76 local entrepreneurs, business owners, and innovators who showed up at Vibe Coworks with heart, honesty, and purpose this week:

THANK YOU. For your time, for your presence, and for your trust.

Stay tuned for more pics and recaps... in the meantime, we’d love to hear what you thought. Drop your biggest takeaway from the day in the comments, yeah?

11/21/2025

Kitsap’s entrepreneurial community just took a major step forward.

At the Firebrand Unconference 2025 and 2025 Firebrand Unconference After Party last night, we announced that Matchstick Lab has been awarded $75,000 through the U.S. Small Business Administration 2025 Growth Accelerator Fund Competition — joining an select group of only 76 awardees across the country.

This funding fuels a next phase of work for us, one focused clearly on capital formation in the Greater Kitsap region.

Our mission?
- Map local investment opportunities
- Understand real barriers to capital
- Bring together entrepreneurs, lenders + investors
- Build a data-backed capital strategy that serves founders
- Create a long-term capital strategy for our region

The 2025 Firebrand Unconference + After Party reminded us that everything we need is in the room (and in Kitsap!)

This award helps us turn that belief into action.

Stay tuned for a full event recap coming soon... until then, read the full story at the link below. Huzzah!

https://matchsticklab.co/matchstick-lab-wins-gafc-award/